Heart Failure Health Center

Sudden Flare-Up of Heart Failure

Symptoms of sudden heart failure

Sometimes your symptoms may get worse very quickly. This is called sudden heart failure or a flare-up. It causes fluid to build up in your lungs, causing congestion. (This is why the problem is often called congestive heart failure.) Symptoms may include:

• Severe shortness of breath.
• An irregular or fast heartbeat.
• Coughing up foamy, pink mucus.

Sudden heart failure is an emergency. You need care right away.

A flare-up is different than heart failure that gets worse slowly. With a flare-up, your symptoms change much more quickly. It may happen if you have a high-salt meal, forget your medicines, get an irregular heartbeat, or have a problem like anemia, an infection, or a fever.

You may have to stay in the hospital to fix the problem. Some flare-ups may take several days to control.

After treatment, your symptoms will probably go back to the way they were before the flare-up.

Treatment for a flare-up

When you arrive at the hospital or emergency room, the doctor will prescribe medicines such as diuretics, nitrates, and/or morphine. These will help you breathe more easily and control your pain or anxiety. You also may get oxygen.

Your doctor may order exams, such as a stress test, EKG/ECG, or echocardiogram. These tests will let the doctor know how well your heart is working.

Your doctor will try to find the cause of your flare-up and treat it. For example, you may have eaten a salty meal the night before that caused your body to hold onto extra water and make your symptoms worse. Or the cause may be harder to find.

After the flare-up is controlled, your doctor may change the doses or types of medicine you take.

In some cases, you may go from the hospital to a rehabilitation (or rehab) center. The staff members are specially trained to support people with heart failure. They can help you with diet and lifestyle changes.